The Journey(s) of Ian

Back again! I do enjoy this town. It would be hard not to. Luang Prabang is a world heritage site, a town in northern Laos, capital of the province of the same name, and a major tourist drawcard. The quiet, but still somewhat busy streets draw tourists from all over the world, mainly younger, backpacker oriented people, who visit as part of their tour of Laos and south-east Asia. People come to relax, enjoy the beautiful scenery, spend a little time with nature, and generally to chill. The town is a days journey by bus from Vientiane and half a day from Vang Vieng. LP is a tiny destination by most standards, dwarfed by the megacities in neighbouring countries, it has a population of 55,000 . The town lies between the Mekong River and Nam Khan Rivers. Essentially, the town is a long peninsular. The peninsular area consists of four main roads, which form the main tourist area. This is filled with r estaurants, hotels, tour companies, tourist trinket shops, and massage shops —...

* I have added a few pics, but in the usual poor google blog fashion the pics are jumbled. They are of a visa run I made from Pattaya to Cambo. All fairly obvious. The bus, the people, the places. * ------------------------ The Thai visa run There is a necessary ritual in Thailand, which many farang have to endure. Like many rituals it could, potentially, be easily be avoided with forethought, or a modicum of good sense, but this is not the case. Let me explain. If you (that is to say, a foreigner, a non-Thai) wish to visit Thailand for a holiday—no problems—get on the plane, land in Bangkok, and as you exit the airport you will receive a 30 day ‘visa’ ‘stamp’ in your passport. [Sidebar: even though people invariably refer to this ‘stamp’ as a ’30 day visa’ it is not a visa, rather it is a ‘tourist visa exemption’—the opposite of a visa.] People from most countries are eligible to receive this non-visa, visa, stamp. This fits the needs of most tourists. They come to Thailand for a few ...